Half Full
by MissLavery
Summary: And so, we're back to Neji & Tenten Oneshot #13 - Rebellion: Neji is a prince, Tenten is a princess. They were meant to meet, but they don't, but end up doing so anyways.
1. Water

_Trouble…trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born_

_Worry…worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone  
Well I've been saved by a woman_

_She won't let me go  
She won't let me go now_

_- Ray LaMontagne_

**Water**

The Land of Rain had every climatic characteristic which Neji loathed. It was humid; mind bogglingly hot; muggy… and then there were the unbelievably tenacious enemies on top of that. It had been a very long time since he had been pushed to use his Byakugan to such an extent.

He was glad when Tenten said "Well, I suppose we're done here." as she tugged a bloody sword out of a corpse.

He was even happier now that they were outside of the country's borders, and the air was fast becoming cooler; calmer.

They sat around in a clearing, eating silently. It wasn't awkward; it had always been this way. Neji reached out to pick up his flask. As he neared it to his lips, he promptly dropped it; watching as the liquid inside splashed onto the dirt ground.

Now that was embarrassing.

"Tired?" Tenten giggled behind a hand. He ignored her and practically snatched it off the ground.

"Tch…and I just filled this up as well…" he mumbled to himself.

"Aw, Neji, you're such a pessimist." She teased.

"This thing is half empty."

"You make everything sound so bad."

"How would you put it then?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest

"Well, at least it's still half full." She replied thoughtfully.

He made another annoyed noise and stalked off towards the river.

_**A/N: I'm trying something a bit different here; short chapters for a short story (and possibly short waits for updates, too).**_


	2. Bone

**Bone**

"Ah, Neji, your glare pains me." Lee joked, pretending to shield his face from the Hyuuga's glower.

Neji rolled his eyes.

"Neji, stop it, it's not his fault." Tenten agreed, smacking him lightly with the back of her hand.

"I'm not blaming _him_." Neji nodded towards the injured Lee lying on the hospital bed. His leg was bundled up in a fat cast, and was hung up above the bed. The rest of the team was standing around.

"I'm just…just…" He sighed and shook his head.

Tenten patted him lightly on the back. Somehow, her touch made it better; the storm thrashing inside of him settled a notch.

"Don't blame yourself either." She soothed. "It's not your fault."

"I just can't believe I let him go…and what he did…" he glanced over at Lee, who grinned back.

"C'mon Neji! Do you really think a stupid bone fracture could harm me!? Give me a few weeks, and I'll be running around like…like a, like a… Tenten, give me a fast animal."

"A mouse."

"Yeah, like a… what!? Can't you think of something cooler?"

"Gazelle?"

"Yeah, ok. Running around like a gazelle."

Neji couldn't hide a light chuckle.

"At least he's alive and well. That's all that counts." Tenten said.


	3. Rain

**Rain**

"Neji, stop, _please_. You're giving me a headache." Tenten complained.

He stopped his pacing, only to take a second's glimpse out of the window. He saw rain; heavy, fat drops falling in sheets. Above them, the sky was layered with thick, black, angry clouds; pregnant with more rain. He grumbled something incoherent, and went back to walking up and down the room again. Tenten rolled her eyes with a sigh, and returned to polishing her weapons scattered across a wooden table.

The rain kept falling in a light patter. The clanking of Tenten's weapons as she moved them around rang throughout the room. The clock ticked.

"The rain doesn't look like it'll stop." Neji commented.

"No." Tenten agreed, rubbing a kunai vigorously with a cloth.

"Not anytime soon."

"Mmm…" she mumbled, blowing at the kunai's surface.

"Not in time for tomorrow." He stated.

Tenten frowned at the kunai, clearly unsatisfied with a certain area. She picked up the cloth again.

More rain. More clanking. More silence between them.

Neji unfolded his arms and stormed over to where she was sitting. Gently, he trapped her face in his hands so she was looking at him; their faces inches apart.

"You're not worried." He breathed.

"Should I be?" Tenten asked, dropping all the things in her hands.

"I thought you said you wanted it to be on a sunny day." He said.

"I do."

"Then why do I feel like I'm the only one distressed?"

Tenten laughed, and Neji blinked in return.

"Neji." She said simply; putting a hand over his one on her face.

"It's the weather. We can't control it, and there's no point in stressing over it, is there?" He closed his eyes and sighed through his nose.

"Besides," she added.

"I wouldn't care if there was a blizzard out there." The Hyuuga's eyes snapped open again, searching her face.

"At least I'd still be getting married to you. That's all that counts."

He blinked at her for a few more seconds.

"I understand." He said before planting a kiss onto her forehead.


	4. Room

**Room**

The house smelled of nothing but wood, fresh paint, and new leathers and cloths from the furniture. Neji wrinkled up his sensitive nose in mild disgust. He hated it.

"I love it!" Tenten exclaimed enthusiastically as she rushed into her so called new home. She pranced around like a curious rabbit, going here and there; opening up curtains, checking rooms, feeling the smooth wood of the tables…

She realized her husband standing miserably at the doorway. Laughing, she went over to him and twisted her fingers into his.

"Come on, Neji. It's not that bad." She whispered happily.

"I don't like it." He replied flatly.

"Be nice, Neji. Hiashi-sama spent a lot of time and effort trying to make this right for us."

"Yeah, he could have saved so much effort by leaving us alone in our old house." He shrugged.

"Oh, don't be stubborn. You know how much he wants you to move in with him."

Neji clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"You know," Tenten laughed. "Most people would be more than thrilled to have received such a great honor."

"I am honored. I just don't understand why I have to move into the Main Courts."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, you bitter lemon, let's go check out the house." She tugged at his hand, and he had no choice but to follow obediently.

"Wait." Neji said, wrapping an arm around Tenten's waist to stop her.

"Why is this room empty?"

They had stopped at a room along the upstairs corridor. There was a large sash window which stretched across the back wall, letting in plenty of sunshine and warmth. The carpet was in a soft beige colour. It was a nice room; too much of a shame not to use.

"Oh, that…" Tenten said quietly. "I told them to leave it empty."

"Why…?"

"Well, I thought even though you weren't happy about moving in, at least you'd be enthusiastic about being able to decorate our own baby's room."

It took a while to sink in.


	5. Cake

**Cake**

"Tenten, I'm…I'm so sorry."

"No, Neji, you're _not_ sorry. Save it,"

Neji watched, helpless as his wife stuffed things into a suitcase. It was so unlike Tenten. Usually, she was the calm, peaceful one; but not now.

She was grabbing; hastily knocking things over as her trembling hand reached in all directions to take anything she saw. Books; clothes; weapons...

"Tenten…please." He begged. She ignored him and slammed the suitcase shut, heaving it off of the bed.

"Here, let me help…"

"_Don't_ touch me…" she growled.

"You're pregnant!" He protested.

"And you're a fucking jerk!"

"I'm sorry, please don't stress…"

"Don't tell me what to do." She snapped, landing the suitcase onto the floor with an audible 'thump'. Neji flinched at the sound.

"Where are you going?" He asked, as she headed for the door.

"To my old apart… Ugh! It's none of your business!"

"Your old apartment is a mess!"

"It is _not_ a mess, Hyuuga Neji!"

"Please…Tenten, I'll…I'll give you anything."

Tenten stopped in her tracks.

"_Anything?_" She narrowed her eyes.

"A…anything." He knew he was going to regret this.

"Hm…" She crossed her arms atop her ballooned, pregnant belly. "You know what I want." She smiled. Neji grimaced. Of course he knew what she wanted.

**********

_"Neji."_

He had been woken up, violently shaken by his wife next to him.

_"I want cake."_

_"Ok. I'll go get some for you next morning." He yawned._

_"No, I want it now." _

_"N...now? It's three in the morning, Tenten."_

_"I want it now." She repeated, an edge cracking into her voice._

_"The chef's in bed!"_

_"I don't care! I want cake… with nuts on top!"_

_"What!?" He sat up fully now, eyes wide awake. "You're allergic to nuts!"_

_"Yeah, I still want it on top."_

_"You're nuts!"_

_"What did you say!?"_

_**********_

Thus resulting to the current tantrum.

"Ok." He surrendered, lifting his hands up into the air.

"I'll go wake the chef. He will not be happy."

"Your chef loves me." Tenten answered smugly, sitting herself onto the bed again.

"Tsk… yeah, you're not the one doing the waking…you and your craving tantrums, Tenten" He shook his head with a smile.

"Well you're not the one who has to carry all this weight around for nine months." She smirked. "At least you give me what I want."

Neji kissed his hormonal wife in the hand.

"But no nuts." He whispered.

Tenten rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Fine, no nuts."

****

A/N: I've been changing the story genre around for a while. I started this story expecting/wanting it to be all angst-y and tragedy like…but it hasn't really turned out that way. I suppose humor is so much more fun to write. Oh well, humor it is.


	6. Paper

_If a picture paints a thousand words then why can't I paint you?_

_- Bread_

**Paper**

Every ninja had their own way of winding down from their adrenaline filled days.

Naruto ate ramen.

Choji, well… he just ate.

Ino arranged flowers.

Tenten polished weapons.

Lee ran with his hands.

Kakashi read.

...and Neji drew.

Not many knew about it, but Sai was not the only ninja in Konoha with artistic talents. Sai drew for fighting; and his illustrations were quick, swift and brief; created by mere flicks of the wrists and swishes of horse-haired brushes.

But Neji's were far from that. He strived to make exact copies of what he saw; of faces, bodies, scenery… He was proud to say he was a perfectionist, and his drawings reflected that. Every strand of hair and every freckle could not escape his eyes, and there had never been anything he could not draw… until now.

Neji found Tenten impossible to draw.

He caught her one day, heavily pregnant; striding calmly in the Hyuuga gardens. Her hair was shining soft, chocolate brown in the sunlight, caressed by the wind. Her skin was glowing. He felt himself swell with pride as he noticed the Hyuuga clan symbol on the kimono wrapped gracefully around her body. She looked so beautiful and delicate, it almost hurt him. At that moment, he knew he wanted to capture the moment forever. Locking a mental image of her inside his head, he waited until she returned indoors before scrambling in after her to find his drawing pencils and charcoals.

He spent the next few nights trying to recreate the image, but failed with every attempt. Somehow, he could never get it right. He had her face etched into his head; the hair he loved to run his fingers through; the mouth he kissed; the eyes he loved to look at; and yet, physically, he could not recreate it on paper.

"Neji?" Tenten poked a head into his study after the second day. "There you are. I've been looking for you…"

She paused at the sight of him surrounded by scattered pieces of papers littered across the floor. She picked up one close to her feet and looked at it, and he watched as her lips parted in awe.

"It's me." She stated breathlessly. She tried to reach for another one, but her ballooned belly made it difficult for her to bend. He quickly scrambled to her side before she toppled over.

"Ha, thanks Neji." She laughed, taking the drawings from his hand. Her eyes glowed as she scanned each one.

"They're all of me."

"No…." He mumbled.

"Well, unless you married my identical twin, it sure damn looks like me." she shrugged, a hint of a smile playing on her lips; which he could not help but press his own against.

"It's not you." He breathed against her skin. She frowned at him.

"Well I'm jealous now." She teased. "Have you been spending the last day and a half trying to draw some random woman I don't know of? Naughty, Neji, and here I am, carrying all this weight with me…" He pressed his lips against hers again.

"You know I don't see any other women." He replied solemnly. Taking the drawings from her, his jaws tightened. Damn him for even attempting to draw her. It was fooling with the fates; trying to perfect perfection was impossible. What was he even thinking? He crumpled them up in an angry fist.

"You're too perfect, it's impossible to draw you." He said, hoping she would understand.

She didn't.

"Neji, you idiot!" she almost screamed as she snatched the drawings back towards her.

"Don't you _dare_." She flattened the papers out on the table next to her.

"Well, I don't care if you don't like them. _I_ do, and they're all mine now. Don't you dare ruin them."

And she left quickly with a stack in her arms.

**A/N: I thought you might want to know where my inspiration came from. Below is the transcript; 'Neji' is an alias for a friend who was in my art class – he's one helluvan artist, I won't lie. 'Tenten' is an alias for his girlfriend.**

**Me (to Tenten one day at lunch): you know, your face would actually be really easy to draw.**

**Tenten: a lot of people tell me that.**

**Me: yeah, cuz you've got really nice and clear features, like a really straight nose and defined bone structure. (YES, I AM AN ART GEEK SOMETIMES, OK?)**

**Tenten: Sakura (another alias) tells me that. (Sakura is a major art boff)**

**Neji: are you fucking joking me? Her face is the most difficult thing to draw!**

**Me: why, have you tried?**

**Neji: as a matter of fact, yes.**

**And it kinda led to that.**

**Cheers!**


	7. Key

**Ok, ok. So this **_**was **_**meant to be a continuous multi-chap story, but I've been so undecided with so many aspects of this 'story', I've decided to just turn it into a collection of short oneshots. This will be a good place for me to put up some of the random ideas I have which are too short to be a story of their own. Sorry for any disappointment caused. But from now on, "Half Full" is officially a oneshot collection! Yay!**

"When I come to your apartment, I expect you to be here!"

That was probably the worse thing he could have said at the moment. He had not _meant_ for it to sound that way – in fact, that statement was not even directed at her, it was more of an enlightenment of his own foolish thoughts. Of course, Tenten did not, and would not have known that.

"What's_ that_ supposed to mean!?" she was suddenly cross. "What am I? Your slave girl? I don't come at your command, Hyuuga Neji! I go wherever I want, whenever I want! If you want to talk to me, you call me beforehand to see if I'm home, like everyone else does! Don't you dare talk to me like that! Why are you always so selfish? I don't…"

"You left this at the training field" Neji said, holding her kunai towards her.

She was silent for a moment as she stared at the glistening piece of metal on his rough palms.

"Oh…" she said quietly, taking it slowly from his hand. "Thank you."

"I should go now." he said, and with a flick of a heel, he turned quickly and was gone in an instant.

That was the first time he ever went to her apartment. He had stood there and waited for five full hours before she returned home from the supermarket.

*****

"Hyuuga Neji, why are you," he watched as Tenten checked her watch. "7 hours late to training? It's 12 in the afternoon!"

He wasn't looking at her, but he could still see her, thanks to his Byakugan.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm selfish."

She heaved a huge sigh.

"Neji." Her tone sounded as if she were speaking to a three year old. "I'm sorry, ok? I should not have said you were selfish. I just… just didn't expect… you shouldn't have said…"

"I waited five hours for you." He said quietly. Of course he was taking advantage. Who wouldn't?

"Neji…" she almost whimpered. "I'm sorry! Really! It just… just wasn't something I'd expect from you, you know?"

"What isn't?" he turned to look at her.

"Y…you know. Couldn't you have just went in and left it on my table or something? Or given it to me the next time we trained?"

"You know as well as I do you can't sleep without counting all 146 of your kunai." He told her. "So, no. And to answer your first question." He walked over to her.

"You want me to break into your house?"

"Well not exactly_ break in_." she said. "I wouldn't call it that. You _are_ a ninja though, so I wouldn't have thought breaking into a simple lock like mine would be much trouble for you."

She had no idea how ironic that sounded.

"Maybe." He said.

"What do you mean maybe? You're an expert at breaking locks. You…"

"Maybe I just wanted to see you." He shrugged.

*****

He rang the doorbell again, but still, nobody answered.

_"Come pick me up at 7." _She had said.

Well, 7 was _now_, and said girl was not where she was supposed to be.

Somehow, he felt this had happened before.

It was their date. Their very first one, to be exact. He was keen on not repeating his previous mistake, and promptly began the lock breaking procedure he had learnt at the academy.

Ah, the miracles of a hair pin.

As he fumbled around the lock with the thin piece of metal, the door of the apartment next to Tenten's slowly opened, and an old, wispy man walked out. He caught Neji in his act.

"Oi!" he said in his crackly voice. "Whatcha think yer doin?"

*****

Neji was going to kill her. Damn Gai sensei and Lee, she was now officially an hour late for her date with Neji. She ran through the streets, easily dodging the people walking past.

"Another thing for him to nag me about." She rolled her eyes.

As she neared her apartment, she heard two male voices arguing over something.

"You don't understand! I'm her boyfriend!" one said.

"Yer all say tha' yer all does. It aint' foolin' me, yer yob. Tenten's a good lass, you aint' takin' her stuff, you aint…'"

"What do you mean they _all_ say that? How many guys, exactly, come to her apartment claiming to be her boyfriend?"

"Too many, she's high in demand yer know…"

"Neji?" Tenten almost laughed at the scene.

Neji Hyuuga was at the mercy of her 89 year old neighbour.

"What was I supposed to do? Punch him?" he said later on that night, as Tenten recalled the look on his face when she found him.

*****

For Neji's 18th, he received all sorts of expensive presents, all in huge boxes of different shapes and sizes. However, his favorite was also the smallest – tied carefully in a small white box with a red ribbon.

It was from Tenten, and she had finally decided it was time he got a key.

**A/N: Weeeeeelll… I suppose you could say this is a prequel of one of my other stories, "Leftovers". I certainly got the idea from that story anyway. It came from one sentence, guess which.**


	8. Dementia

_I can't remember when it was good  
__M__oments of happiness elude  
__M__aybe I just misunderstood_

_  
All of the love we left behind  
__W__atching the flash backs intertwine  
__M__emories I will never find_

_S__o I'll love whatever you become  
__A__nd forget the reckless things we've done  
I think our lives have just begun  
I think our lives have just begun_

_- Muse_

**-Year 1-**

"Marry me, Tenten." He whispered against her lips. She could not reply; feeling the knot inside the pit of her stomach release as she reached her climax. He came soon after, moaning her name. It took a while before she fully caught her breath and realized what he had said.

"What!?" she gasped as he collapsed into her open arms.

"Marry me." He repeated, head buried in the crook of her neck.

**-Year 2-**

"And your surname, ma'm?"

"I don't have…" Tenten blinked for a moment. For the past 21 years, she had been so used to replying that question with the same answer; again and again. She would always receive strange looks, and had to go into explaining the situation, which was always awkward and uncomfortable.

She had no family.

But it was different now.

"Hyuuga." A deep voice said into her ear. She turned and smiled at her husband, who casually laid his hand on her hip from behind her.

"Hyuuga." She repeated.

**-Year 3-**

"Congratulations, Neji." Sakura smiled as she handed the bundle over to him. "It's a boy."

He reached out to take the baby, but at the same time, was straining his head to see through the half open door. He wanted to see if Tenten was alright, but Sakura kept extending the baby to him. So he took it, all the while trying to activate his Byakugan.

"Neji!" Sakura said a little more sharply. "Take him or you'll drop him!" At this, he snapped his head back and took his first look at his child.

For the first time in his life, he was scared; scared and confused – yet utterly, totally, and entirely happy. He never knew these three emotions could exist all at once.

"H…how do I do this?" he looked at Sakura for help as he held the baby stiffly in his arms; and she laughed at the peculiar sight of a Hyuuga not knowing what he was supposed to do.

**-Year 10-**

"He's just fallen asleep." Tenten said quietly as she shut the door to her son's bedroom. There was a bitter nip of coldness in her voice, and she refused to look at Neji.

"Hn." He replied.

"He was crying because he heard us arguing."

"Hn." He repeated.

For a moment, the couple just stood there; silent, unmoving, until finally, Tenten ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm going to bed." She sighed.

**-Year 25-**

"Yuki, is Neji home yet?" Tenten asked as she ate her dinner alone at the table.

"Neji sama is in his study." the servant replied. "He told me to bring him dinner there."

"And my son?"

"Sora sama is at the Uchiha mansion."

She was silent for a few seconds.

"So he really is planning on marrying her, huh?" she laughed, half bitterly to herself.

"I believe so, Tenten sama." Yuki replied.

"The Byakugan and the Sharingan; what kind of super baby would _that _turn into?"

"Indeed, ma'm." Yuki agreed. "What does Neji sama say about this?"

Tenten shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't spoken to him in a while."

It was almost said too casually.

**-Year 60-**

"I'm sorry Mr. Hyuuga, but the doctor may be a while." The nurse said to Neji. "Would you like to take a seat?"

"Oh." He replied in his old, raspy voice; leaning half his weight on his cane. He took an impatient glance at the clock behind the nurse's counter.

"Do you need to be somewhere, Mr. Hyuuga?" the nurse asked cheerfully when she noticed his anxious face.

"I'm having breakfast with my wife." He stated simply.

"Oh." This time, it was the nurse. "I'm afraid the doctor is in a very important surgery at the moment. Maybe you could call your wife and tell her you'll be late. If you want, you could use our phone…"

"It's alright." He smiled, shaking his head and smiling gently. "She doesn't really remember who I am anymore; she won't notice I haven't gone today."

The nurse looked at the old man in front of her. He was a fascinating man; truly like some ancient Greek God - Zeus, to be exact. He had a head of beautiful, long, white hair which shone from the sunshine bursting through the window. His eyes were pure silver, but he was not blind. He was dressed in all white. Somehow, he seemed to emanate a gracious air.

"You mean… you have breakfast with her everyday even though…"

"She has dementia." He said, smiling casually.

"But... she doesn't remember you…" the nurse said quietly.

"Oh well." He was grinning now. "As long as I remember her, that's enough."

**A/N: The lyrics on the top are the first three verses of the song "Falling Away With You" by Muse. Thank you everyone, for the wonderful comments I've been getting. They really do make my day!**

**- xholicx**


	9. Argh!

**Rated T for language!!**

**Argh!**

_"If anything happens, find Naruto."_

Neji had said this to Tenten before he left for his mission. Why Naruto of all people, she had no idea, but she might as well trust him on this one.

"N…Naruto…" Tenten gasped into the phone.

"Tenten?" she could hear his worried voice on the other end. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"M…my water just broke."

Naruto then proceeded to curse and swear in a long, creative string of words; which Tenten found quite amusing and would have laughed if not for the fact that she was in so much pain.

"W…Where are you!?" she said, a little more intensely than she had meant to. She could feel the first wave of contractions increasing already.

"I'm in Ichiraku, goddammit! Sasuke teme, Tenten says she's… Teuchi I will pay you when… SHE'S IN LABOUR YOU FOOL!"

Tenten could not help but chuckle breathlessly as Naruto started speaking to her again.

"Hold on, Tennie. We're coming!"

And true to his word, Naruto came crashing into her and Neji's quarters in the Hyuuga complex only 2 minutes later; with Sasuke and Shikamaru close behind him.

"Tenten!" He shouted, rushing to her side. "Shikamaru, left arm, teme, right arm. I'll hold the legs."

Tenten felt herself being hoisted up. Overwhelmed with the amount of people helping her, she tried to stay as still as possible in their aid. But as soon as that, another contraction hit.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!" Tenten screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!" Naruto followed suit.

"Naruto you dobe! Shut the hell up!"

"S…sorry. I was…"

"On my count, we _move together._ We don't want to jostle her." Shikamaru cut him off.

Tenten could not be gladder she had ninjas as friends at this very moment. From years of training and teamwork practice, the three men moved together and at the same speed, as if mirror images of one another. Not once did she feel shaken. But that did not prevent more contractions.

"When's that Hyuuga coming back?" Naruto asked.

"Later on this afternoon." Shikamaru replied, shouting over Tenten's screams of pain.

Soon they were at the hospital, Tenten gripping tightly onto Naruto's hand before they wheeled her off into the labour room.

"T…Tell Neji…"

"I will, I will Tenten, don't worry."

"N…no. Tell Neji that IF HE DOESN'T GET HIS ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW; I'M NEVER FUCKING HIM AGAIN!"

Naruto was left stunned in silence as he watched Tenten being pushed away, Sasuke and Shikamaru laughing hysterically behind him.

The 3 men paced around outside for around 2 hours, until finally, Neji showed up sweaty, bloody, and looking exhausted.

"How is she!?" he asked them. They looked at one another.

"G…good." Naruto replied nervously. Poor Neji, he did not want to tell him what Tenten had said in his current state.

Neji was soon summoned into the labour room. Another hour later, the doctor came out and told them they could go in and see Tenten.

"Thank you, Naruto kun." Tenten said quietly, as she pecked him on the cheek. "I'm glad I listened to Neji."

Neji chuckled at the sight of Naruto's blush.

**This is just some pure humour + WAFFness I suddenly wanted to write. Oh, but the research on pregnancy I had to do for this, although not a lot, was kinda bad. I was reading this very graphic and detailed article on the process of birth giving and I was like "Oh shit, oh no… arrrggghhh!" the whole way. Seriously, that's why I'll never be a doctor. Anyway, please review!**


	10. Watching

**Watching**

She watched him through a window; the abstract concepts of time and space overlooked.

She did not think of why or when she had started doing this. Those thoughts never occurred in her mind. She just observed him; constantly, constantly.

His face had been twisted in pure anguish as hot tears streamed down his face. He had cried silently, but defiantly not softly. And soon, there was a knock on the door.

"Neji?" A muffled voice came from the other side. "Neji, can we talk?"

He had wiped his tears away, and in and instant, his face was expressionless.

That was her first memory of him, and she immediately became curious.

Day after day, she sat by the window; her desire to know about this man growing every minute. He seemed to live his life in despair. Sometimes, he would walk into his room, already crying. Sometimes, he did not shed a single tear. But she always realized that his motions were repetitive; even robotic.

She wanted to know why. Perhaps it was because of a brawl with a friend, or pressure from work. Or maybe a loved one was far away from reach.

Soon, she became consumed by him, every inch of her consciousness longed to know more about him. She watched him as he slept, imagining a million explanations for his grief. She admired his long, black hair; his silvery eyes… the darkness of night suddenly became quiet, soft, and gentle.

She once caught him staring into photo albums; sighing. Perhaps his loved one had left him, for reasons she could only guess. Maybe it was for his lack of intentions, or the fact that his other half had just… changed. She created a story in her head where she had left for his best friend, and he had caught them in the act.

Until, one day, he slipped a particular photograph out of its album, and she caught a glimpse.

He was in the photo; with an arm draped around… it was herself. In a rush, it all came flooding back to her.

A mission…

A mission gone wrong.

And now, her own grave lay somewhere in the Konoha fields, with all the rest of the village's heroes.


	11. Withdrawal

_I don't understand, why do I stress __a__ man,  
When there's so many bigger things at hand?  
We could of never had it all, we had to hit a wall  
So this is inevitable withdrawal,  
Even if I stop wanting you, a perspective pushes through  
I'll be some next man's other woman soon _

_I shouldn't play myself again,  
I should just be my own best friend  
Not fuck myself in the head with stupid men  
- Amy Winehouse_

When Sakura returned from that one mission, she was… different.

Naruto was the one who had found her; pale, exhausted and distressed; but whole.

She was silent for the journey back, and seemed to shy away from the inspection they offered – or any kind of closeness in general. At first, they left it, thinking maybe she was still shaken.

But the symptoms lasted.

***

And then one day, Naruto heard about her leaving the club with a random man, and then walking out of his house in the morning.

And then, he heard it again, this time, with another man.

And another.

And another.

And so it went on.

***

"Cheap and easy." the men in town said of her.

***

Until Naruto grabbed her in the collar and growled at her,

He asked her of what had she become.

Why was she doing this?

He looked painfully at her blood red lips and artificial skin.

She looked passed him.

***

She told him she had seen him that time.

What time? That time our mission went wrong.

_Him_

_***_

He raped me, she said.

Except it wasn't really rape.

And I need to, I _need_ to forget;

Get him off me,

His onyx hair;

His empty eyes;

That half smile he's always had, since we were still "Team 7".

***

_That's_ why, Naruto.

And he let her go.

**Thought it was about time I took a break from NejiTen. This was inspired by a combination of the following:**

**1. The plot is a based on that of "One Wish" By Dionysos.**

**2. The song mentioned above; Tears Dry On Their Own – Amy Winehouse**


	12. Hole

**Hole**

They used to tell me he wasn't good for me.

He wasn't good because I was human and he was an alien; we belonged to different worlds.

Him and his broad, slightly stooped shoulders; bringing in the deep scent of extinguished fire and tobacco everywhere he went; his dark, unruly hair; his shaggy face and the lazy composure. Even his speech was lazy; he had a sort of mumble, a languid kind of talk because he always had something in his mouth; whether it be a piece of long grass or the cigarettes that propelled a string of smoke that trailed him like a ghost. The end of his cigarettes lit up a glowing orange every time he spoke… yet it was his eyes that smoldered me; he burned a hole through my body with his gaze every time he looked at me; or looked through me.

And they said I was beautiful; perfect; prodigy of my time. Kakashi was the man of my generation. They all said we were meant to be, we would be a perfect couple, that we fit together like puzzle pieces. But he and I both knew we were not puzzle pieces.

When I approached him and his cigarette, he laughed at me and told me in a sort of soft, patronizing voice he was not good for me. He said he was a free spirit. We didn't fit together because it was like a proper puzzle piece trying to fit to a ridiculous circle piece; he was the circle and nothing could fit with him. I told him good because I'm a hole; I've become a hole because of you and so we fit. I don't think he understood me back then, but he laughed anyway.


	13. Rebellion

**Rebellion**

When Neji's Lords began pestering him about marriage, he did not know where to start. He allowed them to busy themselves by bringing in one princess after another; but none of them interested him. In fact, he had no idea what exactly he was looking for. He obediently met with them, yes, so his Lords would have nothing to hold against him, but the meetings were dull and always short. These women – women with their heavy perfumes and colored faces, who had nothing to talk about except whether his furniture was made of "oak or mahogany? But exquisite all the same, yes. And what about these curtains?"

… He did not know what love was, but he certainly knew what love was not.

Indeed, love was a strange thing to Neji. It was elusive and it was invisible; he could not understand how, as some people would say, it was "powerful". How did it obtain power? Could it be as powerful as him?

Perhaps love was a neutral thing. Like…like water. Each person had their own distinct opinion of the taste of water, it had no real form, it was oblique – but when it came in the arrangement of floods or colossal waves, they were, undoubtedly, powerful.

In conclusion: love was/is confusing.

And so, it gave Neji great pleasure when he finally had the chance to leave his castle, to have a stroll with his horse out in the wild areas away from all this forced confusion.

…Secretly, of course.

* * *

She was rebellious and an irritation to her father, and she knew it. But she didn't care. It served him right for forcing her to travel so many miles to meet a foreign prince she had no interest in.

Princess Tenten, the daughter of the Emperor of the East, believed in intense, passionate, and most of all, true love affairs; not stupid arranged marriages. She hated how the women in her country so easily and simply let their fathers fool with their destinies. She was not about to let him do the same to her now.

Although she was tired from the thousands of miles she had travelled at sea, she was also stubborn and determined to escape her father's plans. Therefore, as soon as she was able to set foot on land, she fled.

She had stuffed a male hanfu under her own heavy, layered one; the one she wore for official occasions (which she also hated), before disembarking, and when she was well hidden in the trees, she quickly changed into it and tied her hair back the way her brothers did. She had done this many times before. At home, only men roamed the streets – women stayed where they belonged: inside the house or in the fields. Another awful rule of society, she thought, but one she would have to succumb to for now. She smiled a little to herself, for her cleverness.

* * *

Riding in the woods gave the Prince great pleasure. It was not only because of the ever changing scenery; the fresh and gentle smell emanating from the trees; the buzz of animals, and everything else that nature offered that made him happy.

Yes, those things pleased him. However it was the aspect of knowing he was alone that amused him the most and it was because of this thrill he kept sneaking out; again and again.

Today, the forest was layered in a thin sheen of hard snow.

* * *

The Princess trod through the forest with ease, glancing around to see if anybody had been sent after her. She was safe for now, it seemed.

Walking around in a forest full of trees, roots, and in this situation, hard, icy snow was not a problem for her. She was not like the other princesses, she liked to think. She had sneaked out of her palace to explore the land many times before. This forest, she realized, was different from the ones at home. They were flatter, fuller of trees, and somehow, more intimidating.

She liked it though. Any excitement that allowed her to stray from the boring routines would do.

But after some time, she realized she was not making any progress. Not lost, just not making progress, she assured herself. This foreign forest was much harder to navigate than she had though.

Suddenly, the sound of angry dogs echoed through the trees. Tenten stopped in her tracks, pricking her ears to the sound. These creatures did _not_ sound friendly, and she could tell they were coming towards her rapidly. Picking up her pace, she tried to move away.

_Hunting dogs. They must have picked up my scent._ She whispered to herself. Their barking was becoming clearer now, and had lost their sense of direction. They were coming from all corners, and soon, she saw them. From the bushes, the animals appeared and stopped in their tracks, only to produce a deep, throaty growl at her. Surrounded, she soon heard the muffled voices of men from a distance. Tenten looked back at the dogs. They were inching hungrily, slowly at her. What, did she look like an animal or something? These dogs ought to be better trained.

* * *

Somewhere from the forest, a bloodcurdling cry rang and echoed throughout the trees, disturbing the pleasant silence Neji had been enjoying. The sound ran a shiver down his spine. His horse pricked up his ears, and he, although somewhat annoyed of the sudden disturbance, was as also curious.

Patting his horse's neck, they both agreed to investigate, and with a swift turn, Neji made his way towards the source.

At first, the prince thought he had misunderstood, and that a rather noisy animal was being pursued by a group of local hunters. But then, an animal would never be able to cry for help in such a way. He looked more closely; and he acted instinctively more than anything else. Steering his horse, he forced them out of the bushes as the confused hunters scrambled out of his way. He ducked and in one swift motion, scooped the girl off the ground and away from the hunters; who were still politely stunned by the whole incident.

* * *

The ride was uncomfortable, mostly due to the fact that she was sprawled awkwardly on the back of her rescuer's horse. She had not expected herself to be in such a helpless position already; but nevertheless, she was grateful. He seemed to notice the aching expression on her face, and slowed down to stop as soon as they reached a clearing near a lake.

He slid off the horse and reached out to help her down. She didn't need it though, she knew enough about horses to get on and off herself. The hasty mount had embarrassed her enough. Ignoring his outstretched hand, she slid off the horse and landed onto the ground with a satisfying thump. He looked mildly shocked, but retracted his arm nevertheless.

She could tell he was rich. He was dressed plainly, but the clothes were clean and of fine material. His face was angular, strong, and most of all, pale. This man did not need to work on the fields. Her favorite part about him was his hair. It was long, beautiful – almost as impressive as her own.

Perhaps the thing which betrayed his identity the most was his horse. Nobody but a nobleman could have had such an incredible horse. It was a black stallion, with a magnificent coat and strong, fast legs. She knew if this horse had appeared in her country, her father would have taken it as his own without a doubt.

* * *

It was the first time he could see her clearly.

He could only think of one way to describe her: strange.

Everything, from her brown-verging-on-black hair to the soft, cloth shoes visible from under her garments was new and peculiar to him, as if she had stepped out from another world. Her face was soft and in theory, far from what his country's standard of beauty was. Yet, everything on her face seemed to be right. They belonged there – confidently. Nothing else could have won a place on this face. He knew he was staring, and he knew she felt awkward about it, but he could not control his fascination over this new image in front of him.

"Thanks… for that…" she finally said. Her voice was sharp and clear.

"Yes." He replied. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Excuse the hunters. They must have scared you."

* * *

Tenten was not sure who this man was, except that he might be rich, and that his tone irritated her. _Excuse those hunters._ What was that? "Those damn hunters", or "be careful around here, there are a lot of hunters" would have done, but "excuse those hunters"? Did he _own_ those hunters?

So, he had typical noblemen talk too.

"I wasn't scared" she said dismissively, patting her clothes into place.

This rewarded her with a long, hard stare from him.

"But you screamed…"

"I didn't scream."

Another stare.

"Ok, I screamed, but it wasn't because I was scared. I wanted to alert someone those damn dogs were about to attack me. I was actually expecting those hunters… but… you came…"

* * *

Neji was… confused, and fascinated all the same. It seemed for the first time in his life, this woman, _a_ woman, was being rude to him. He was unsure of what he needed to do. Reveal his identity? Punish her? But he did not want her to stop. She seemed oblivious to his status, and he wanted to keep it that way, for now – there was a thrill to this ordeal.

"Could you… perhaps take me to your nearest town?" she said.

"Are you not from around here?" of course, he should have known.

"No. I'm a businessman from the East."

"A business… you mean woman."

And there she was. She looked at him. Shocked.

* * *

"I…" This had never happened to her before. Not once. For all the times she had sneaked out of her palace, and rest assured it was _many_ times, she had never failed. Nobody had ever been able to reveal her identity. Yet this man, without even trying, with just one look and one conversation, had done it. In fact, he did not even realize her identity. It wasn't realization if you had not been fooled to begin with.

"I suppose I can fit you on my horse." He said. "But…"

And suddenly, an idea struck the prince.

"You. Do you have a place to stay?"

There it was again. _You_. He knew her name, so why not use it?

"Not yet."

"I have an extensive guest quarter in my home. If you don't mind… you are welcome to use it."

And then, the idea struck the princess too.

"You are very kind sir."

And they both smiled at each other.

Wait till his Lords saw him with a woman other than a Princess.

* * *

Wait till her father heard about her and a man who wasn't a Prince.

**A/N: Hi everyone. So… I'm back. It's been a while.**


End file.
